a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novelty item in the form of a translucent container for holding liquids having a flashing light assembly therein and, more particularly, liquid containers having low amperage light and sound producing and distributing electronic assemblies to provide a dynamic array of emitted blinking lights throughout the translucent container. The flashing light effect can be optionally accompanied by sounds such as music rendering these containers useful as promotional or novelty items for a business, business establishment, product, or service as well as for personal enjoyment.
b) Description of the Related Art
In the world of advertising and promotion, objects bearing a particular trademark, trade name, design, or logo are often manufactured for heightening customer awareness of the business, establishment, product, or service to which the name, design, or logo relates. Therefore, in bars, restaurants and casinos, for example, matchbooks, coasters, glassware, plasticware, and the like, are found bearing some form of identification to heighten customer awareness of the establishment. Unfortunately, such identifying material is most often presented in a straightforward manner such as printing on the exterior of a drinking glass or container such that it soon becomes commonplace to the user/customer and, as a result, is unnoticed and is largely ineffective as a promotional item for that which the vessel is intended to promote and advertise.
Lighted liquid vessels, particularly in the form of drinking containers, are well known in the art. For example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,553, 5,211,699, 4,922,355, and 4,563,726, all herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, all teach illuminated beverage drinking containers having a light source in the form of a bulb or light emitting diode (LED) at the base of the container. Some of the challenges presented with these prior art lighted drinking containers are the heat generated by the use of filamentous light bulbs and the costs of the LED devices. These problems would not be particularly significant if a single or a few bulbs or light sources were used; however, the instant invention contemplates the use of a liquid container having an array of lights. A multiplicity of light bulbs would produce an excessive and undesirable amount of heat for the captured liquid and a multiplicity of LED devices would be prohibitively expensive. The instant invention is directed to the use of an array of light emitting sources in a liquid container in a serially blinking arrangement to create a novel flashing liquid vessel. The continuous flashing in th vessel renders a customer/user persistently aware of the vessel itself as well as messages or other printed matter on the vessel, and, further, the amount of liquid in the vessel container.
Electronic blinking novelty items have been available for a number of years to suit many applications such as decorations, advertising signs and other attention-getting devices. Such electronic blinking novelty items have used both digital and analog oscillating circuitry. However, such prior novelty items have been made with little regard for the duty cycle of battery or power sources and seemingly little desire to conserve battery life. The oscillating circuitry of most prior novelty items have been inefficient and have required large batteries to obtain long lives. Among the prior patents disclosing such prior oscillating circuits are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,805,047; 3,866,035; 3,918,184; 4,076,978; 2,815,388; 4,459,645; 4,556,932; 4,634,148; and 4,719,544 all hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Use of a LED flashing or blinking capability in a novelty item is demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,212, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, where a novel blinking ice cube device is shown.
It would therefore be desirable to have an attention-getting liquid container item, wherein the user/customer is not only provided with desired printed and volume content information, but the item also actively engages the customer/user in a manner that entertains as it heightens awareness.
The present invention is directed to a flashing container for holding liquid that can be used as a promotional item for a business,business establishment, product, or service as well as for personal domestic use. This invention provides a novelty liquid container flashing assembly that may be adapted to provide an infinity of liquid container vessels with a variety of indicia on the surface of the vessel and an unlimited location area of a blinking light assembly housed on or in the vessel. The invention employs an electronic module containing a LED with an array of blinking lights which flash continuously upon switch activation. In one embodiment, the invention overcomes the problems of prior blinking light novelty items through employment of an electronic circuit adapted to drive a light emitting diode with a current pulse of very short duration to permit the use of a small battery and to provide a battery life unparalled by prior devices. In this liquid container invention, a capacitor is used in a high efficiency oscillator circuit only in the determination of blinking rate and battery current duty cycle, allowing the use of a wide variety of smaller value capacitors that lend themselves to microelectronic packaging desirable in flasher assemblies to be used in the liquid vessels herein.
In addition, the invention demonstrates a blinking light or flasher assembly housed in a separate segregated liquid impervious compartment of the liquid containing vessel and fastened therein by any means known in the art. The flashing electronic assembly is also outfitted with a conductive pin, lever, or strip communicating with the outside of the vessel to serve as an electrical switch to turn the flashing assembly on and off. In another embodiment of the vessel, the electronic module is a printed circuit having at least one speaker and a preprogrammed microchip to provide audio generating signals to produce sounds such as music.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a container for holding liquid comprises a vessel adapted to contain liquid therein, the vessel including a base, a translucent circumferential side wall or polygonal flat surfaced walls connected to the base, and a separate impervious compartment in the base housing a blinking light assembly whereby when the blinking light assembly is activated an alternating flashing of lights occurs throughout the vessel to amplify both the captured liquid and the side walls of the vessel.
Novelty flashing liquid containing assemblies of this invention therefore include a translucent circumferential container portion adapted to bear an indicia on its face and a segmented impervious compartment attached to the circumferential container portion to provide an opening to receive and house a light emitting diode at any location on or in the container, preferably below the base of the container. In one embodiment, the electronic assembly comprises a printed circuit board bearing an electronic flasher circuit and including a light emitting diode connected to the electronic flasher circuit on the printed circuit board. Because of its short duty cycle, the electronic flasher circuit includes a small battery to power the electronic flasher circuit and the light emitting diode, which battery is connected to the circuit by a flexible conductive strip, pin, or metal strip extending from the circuit board over to the area of the battery. The printed circuit board can be fitted within a pre-sized separate compartment or carries a pin, lever, hook or other fastening portion to secure the LED electronic module to the impervious compartment located at the base of the vessel. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the vessel further includes a second LED electronic module housed in a second impervious compartment at second location in the circumferential wall of the vessel.
The preferred electronic flashing circuit of the invention comprises a switching transistor serially connected with a small current limiting resistance between the battery and the light emitting diode. The switching transistor is controlled by a transistor control network, including a control transistor, which is serially connected between the base-to-emitter junction of the switching transistor and the battery, and a resistor-capacitor network. The resistor-capacitor network includes a high resistance connected with the battery, with the base of the control transistor and with a capacitor. The high resistance substantially determines the rate of charging of the capacitor by the battery and so isolates the base of the control transistor from the battery that the voltage of the capacitor effectively determines the voltage at the base of the control transistor and the flow of current through the control transistor and through the switching transistor. The resistor-capacitor network further includes a smaller resistor to control the discharge current from the capacitor through the control transistor and light emitting diode, to ensure bright emission from the light emitting diode with a minimum conduction time of the switching transistor, thereby providing a short duty cycle that is effective to conserve battery power.
Other embodiments of the instant flashing container vessel include different categories of liquid vessels such as beverage drinking containers, liquor shot glasses, and liquid dispensing vessels such as pitchers. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawings and descriptions that follow.